quotation analysis
#1
"How was it possible that such effort, such plain virtue, could overnight be reduced to this—smoke, thinning as it rose and was received by the big annihilating sky?" (Capote 79)
"How was it possible that such effort, such plain virtue, could overnight be reduced to this—smoke, thinning as it rose and was received by the big annihilating sky?" (Capote 79)
This quote is said by Andy Erhart when the Clutter family’s items are being burned. Erhart had been a classmate of Mr. Clutters, and had seen him “evolve from a poorly paid County Agricultural Agent into one of the region’s most widely known and respected farm ranchers” (79). Herb Clutter was a man who worked his way up from the bottom to where he was today through hard work and goodwill. He represented the idea that the American Dream was achievable through honest work and good faith. His family was also very kind like Mr. Clutter and well liked. Their two eldest daughters had married and moved off, their youngest daughter Nancy was smart, beautiful, and involved in all aspects of the community. Their youngest, Kenyon, although not outgoing as Nancy, was highly intelligent and loved machines. Mrs. Clutter was bed ridden with depression after giving birth to the youngest, but remained loving to her family throughout. The Clutter family was a big part of the small Holcomb village. All the neighbors knew each other and would attend church together every Sunday. It was unimaginable for the villagers to think that it would be the Clutters who were murdered. They were prosperous due to their handwork and honest faith, yet now they were in the grave with their belongings being burned reduced to smoke and ashes. This represents the idea of how vulnerable dreams and life is. The Clutters worked all their life to maintain respect and remain as a part of the community; all it took for this to crumble were two murderers to walk into their home and kill them.
#2
"Now, what kind of person would do that--tie up two women, the way Bonnie and the girl were tied, and then draw up the bedcovers, tuck them in, like sweet dreams and good night? Or the pillow under Kenyon's head. At first I thought maybe the pillow was put there to make his head a simpler target. Now I think, No, it was done for the same reason the mattress box was spread on the floor—to make the victim more comfortable" (Capote 103).
"Now, what kind of person would do that--tie up two women, the way Bonnie and the girl were tied, and then draw up the bedcovers, tuck them in, like sweet dreams and good night? Or the pillow under Kenyon's head. At first I thought maybe the pillow was put there to make his head a simpler target. Now I think, No, it was done for the same reason the mattress box was spread on the floor—to make the victim more comfortable" (Capote 103).
Dewey, who is the officer that is heading the Clutter murder case, speaks this quote. It is observed in the crime scene that the murderer went out of his way to make the family members feel comfortable. A criminal set out purely to steal and kill would not make sure that his victims were comfortable. The way that Dick and Perry, the murderers, went out of their way to do so show that they have some feelings in them. If it didn’t apply to both of them, “At least one of the murderers was emotionally involved wit the victims, even as he destroyed them, a certain twisted tenderness” (103). Even though what Dick and Perry did was atrocious and portrays them to be purely evil, there is still a side to them that is human. For Dick, the Clutter family could have reminded him of his own family. Dick grew up with loving parents who provided for him and loved him. Although he ended up going to jail several times and becoming a murderer, he still loved his family until the end. Dick always denied that he had killed anyone; he always said that “ [he] never fired shot one” (223). Although selfish on his part for putting all the blame to Perry, a reason he could be doing this is for his family. His love for his family, especially his mother, made him say he never fired to make sure that his family wouldn’t be blamed and that their name would not get tainted. For Perry, who had no real caring family and had mental illness, still showed a human side to him on his journey with Dick. When they pick up a boy and an old man who looks like he might die any second, Dick wants to kick them out. However, Perry protects them and says that if Dick decides to leave them that “…[he’ll] be getting out,too” (209). Perry pities the duo and does not want them to be on the streets in the cold. Despite having a troubling family, Perry is paying forward the help he received from other people to the duo. This act really makes him seem caring and kind. Dick and Perry both have likeable traits that make them agreeable human beings. The way that they made their victims comfortable also shows this.
#3
“‘Deal me out, baby,’ Dick said. ‘I’m a normal.’ And Dick meant what he said. He thought of himself as balanced, as sane as anyone—maybe a bit smarter than the average fellow, that’s all. But Perry—there was, in Dick’s opinion, ‘something wrong’ with Little Perry” (Capote 108).
“‘Deal me out, baby,’ Dick said. ‘I’m a normal.’ And Dick meant what he said. He thought of himself as balanced, as sane as anyone—maybe a bit smarter than the average fellow, that’s all. But Perry—there was, in Dick’s opinion, ‘something wrong’ with Little Perry” (Capote 108).
Dick says this when they are at Mexico after him and Perry had murdered the Clutter family. Anyone who murdered an innocent family would not call himself or herself “normal” (108). They would be feeling uneasy and the guilt should be eating them alive, making them unable to function normally. However, he was in Mexico, “and so far he liked it fine—even the food” (108). He seems to be enjoying himself as he relaxes in Mexico that he earned with the money they got from the Clutter house. He thinks himself as “balanced, as sane as anyone” (108). The thought itself that he would think he was just as sane as anyone else after murdering people is insane. Compared to Dick, Perry acts in a saner manner. Perry kept worrying and says that “‘I think there must be something wrong with us. To do what we did.’” (108). Perry actually feels guilty and starts questioning their actions. Dick is just annoyed by this and in his opinion think that there was something wrong with Perry and not him. Dick constantly compares himself to Perry, and thinks that he is better than him. One way of showing his dominance over him is when Dick calls Perry by pet names. He calls him “baby” and “honey”, which are names used for little children. By calling him these names, he is basically saying that he is like the adult figure taking care of a little kid. Doing so makes Dick feel better about himself, and leads him to think that he is normal and sane while there is something wrong with Perry.
#4
“The crime was a psychological accident, virtually an impersonal act; the victims might as well have been killed by lightning. Except for one thing: they had experienced prolonged terror, they had suffered. And Dewey could not forget their sufferings. Nonetheless, he found it possible to look at the man beside him without anger—with, rather, a measure of sympathy—for Perry Smith’s life had been no bed of roses but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress toward one mirage or another” (Capote 245-246).
“The crime was a psychological accident, virtually an impersonal act; the victims might as well have been killed by lightning. Except for one thing: they had experienced prolonged terror, they had suffered. And Dewey could not forget their sufferings. Nonetheless, he found it possible to look at the man beside him without anger—with, rather, a measure of sympathy—for Perry Smith’s life had been no bed of roses but pitiful, an ugly and lonely progress toward one mirage or another” (Capote 245-246).
This quote appears when Dewey, the officer heading the case, is reviewing the motives of the murderers. Even with all the evidences, it is still unclear who killed whom; however it does not matter greatly for it is confirmed that they both participated in the act. It is concluded that there is no purpose behind the killings; it was a “psychological accident”(245) in which Perry and Dick were probably led to do so by their mental illnesses and rage. Out of the disappointment that they could not find the safe, and maybe a hint of jealousy that the family seemed so perfect and prosperous, the two ended up murdering the whole family. Comparing the Clutter family’s death to being killed by lighting shows the how random their deaths actually were. The chance of being struck by lighting is very low, lest being killed by lightning even lower. Their case of death was like a chance of one in a billion possibilities. Perry compares killing them to be “like picking off targets in a shooting gallery” (291). He just happened to decide to rob and kill a family, and the unfortunate targets ended up being the Clutters. However even though Perry describing this makes him seem incapable of processing emotions and almost like a monster, Dewey still has “a measure of sympathy” (245) for Perry. Perry, who is revealed to have several different mental illnesses that makes him paranoid about everything and have random rage fits, had a life that “had been no bed of roses but pitiful,” (246). His childhood and teenage years had been so horrible; all his life he had been cast aside by everyone and everything is society. His life story was so troubling that he was able to receive sympathy even though he has murdered a family. Despite having sympathy for poor Perry, Dewey could not forgive him, for the Clutter family had “experienced prolonged terror, they had suffered” (245). As Dick and Perry went by killing off the family one by one starting off with Mr. Clutter, it is expected that the rest of the family heard the gunshots going off. Nancy and Kenyon, only in high school who had great opportunities ahead of them, set in fear as they heard death coming for them. Two men had killed an innocent family because of a raging fit; no matter how painful and sad their life had been, they would be unforgivable. Officer Dewey would make sure to “see Perry and his partner hanged—hanged back to back” (246).
#5
"Perry Smith shows definite signs of severe mental illness. His childhood, related to me and verified by portions of the prison records, was marked by brutality and lack of concern on the part of both parents. He seems to have grown up without direction, without love, and without ever having absorbed any fixed sense of moral values...." (Capote 296-297).
"Perry Smith shows definite signs of severe mental illness. His childhood, related to me and verified by portions of the prison records, was marked by brutality and lack of concern on the part of both parents. He seems to have grown up without direction, without love, and without ever having absorbed any fixed sense of moral values...." (Capote 296-297).
This quote appears in the book when Dick and Perry are in trial, and a psychologist is examining them for mental problems. The psychologist finds that Perry has several illnesses. His first illness “is his ‘paranoid’ orientation toward the world” (Capote 297). Perry trusts no one and feels that others will discriminate him and do not understand him. This illness makes him feel isolated and alone; he has trouble finding friends that will stick with him and help him. This is probably one of the reasons that Perry stuck with Dick, even when Dick treated Perry rudely; Dick is one of the few friends that will be friends with Perry. Another trait is his “…poorly controlled rage—easily triggered by any feeling of being tricked, slighted, or labeled inferior by others” (Capote 297). Connecting to his first illness, Perry feels that other people see him as lower than them. This makes him feel the need to prove himself, and that he must rise up to be worth something. When his rage and thoughts of himself being inferior combine, he lashes out violently and ends up hating the world even more. He also has “poor ability to organize his thinking…” (Capote 297), and he often loses himself in the little things, missing the big picture. In a sense, all these illness come together and make Perry represent a little child; he feels like a small kid that must prove himself to others, yet he often gets distracted and loses himself in the little things. These illnesses root from his childhood, in which he had a dysfunctional family. The lack of attention and parental guidance and love has caused him to have no morals and values. As a child he tried his best to be a good child to his parents, but they returned him with nothing. This painful past and childhood is the complete opposite of Dick’s. Dick, unlike Perry who had no one and nothing to rely upon, had a normal family who cared and loved for him. His parents provided him with love and care, and he had many opportunities ahead of him. However, they both ended up murdering the Clutter family. These differences in their past really contrasts Dick and Perry. Dick is really crooked and should be punished for he had no reason to commit the acts that he did. However on the other hand, the reader feels pity towards Perry because of his dark past. Although his actions can’t be justified solely by his misfortunate past, there is a sense of pity for him.